The Real Quidditch Hero
by theopallover
Summary: Everybody knows James Potter is fantastic at Quidditch. He's even known as 'The Quidditch Hero' by some. But what if one day, there was one player short on the Slytherin Quidditch team and Severus Snape is chosen to play? Perhaps the young Slytherin has more talents than just Potion-making...
1. A Surprising Request

**Chapter One: A Surprising Request**

* * *

It was the last week of the summer term at Hogwarts, and Severus Snape was exhausted. His OWL results were to be revealed in mid-August, and though he couldn't wait to find out what they were, wanted to rest for a while and not think about them. He was sitting in the library, and was in the process of writing an essay for his _Defence Against the Dark Arts_ class that he hoped he would be taking next year. An _Outstanding_ was needed to be able to take _Defence Against the Dark Arts_ at NEWT level, and Severus was fairly confident he would be able to attend the class as he had spent hours laboriously revising the minute details of spells of dark magic, and the exam had gone pretty well. And so Severus had already begun studying the NEWT syllabus for the subject, which happened to be his favourite subject, hence why he was writing essays for the class even though it was the final week of the summer term.

Severus had taken _The Study of Ancient Runes_ and _Arithmancy_ as his extra subjects for his OWLs, as well as the seven other core subjects: _Potions, Charms, Transfiguration, History of Magic, Astronomy, Herbology and Defence Against the Dark Arts._ He had decided to drop _Herbology, Astronomy_ and _Transfiguration_ so that he would only be taking six subjects at NEWT level: _Potions, Charms, History of Magic, Arithmancy, The Study of Ancient Runes_ and of course, _Defence Against the Dark Arts._ Even though in Severus' eyes he was _only_ taking six subjects during his last two years at Hogwarts, this was actually the maximum number of subjects one could take at NEWT level. Generally, it was recommended that students who wish to continue their studies take five subjects, as this was the necessary qualifications to be able to work at the Ministry of Magic. Although three NEWTs would certainly enable you to get a job, if you wanted to have a salary greater than 10,000 Galleons a year, five NEWTs were needed. Severus took six, however, as he found all his chosen subjects very interesting, particularly _Defence Against the Dark Arts._ During his talk with Professor Slughorn, the Slytherin Head of House, Severus had pleaded Slughorn to allow him to take six subjects, despite not actually knowing what he wanted to do once he left school. Slughorn had happily acquiesced, perhaps only due to the fact that Severus had once been part of the _Slug Club_ along with Lily Evans and a few others due to his brilliance in Potions. He hadn't been invited back, however, and he suspected it was due to his lack of conversation-making with the Slytherin Head of House, or any of the other members, rather.

The conversation about Severus' career choice had been rather thought-provoking, and Slughorn had suggested that Severus might become an alchemist, as he was particularly talented in Potion-making. Severus hadn't completely opposed the idea but he wasn't entirely sure if that was what he wanted to do for the rest of his life. Slughorn had also suggested to him to take a job at the Ministry as Severus would have an incredibly high chance if he succeeded in all six of his NEWTs.

 _"You could work in the Department of Magical Transportation, ooh better yet-the Committee of Experimental Charms, yes you'd have a lot of fun there!"_ Slughorn had told him excitedly. The suggestions _had_ been very interesting, but still, he could not decide if that was the job he was meant to have. Somehow he felt that…they didn't fit him. Which was absurd, because everyone knew that Severus always had his head crammed down a cauldron as he spent a lot of his free time making Potions.

Severus continued writing the essay when all of a sudden he drew his elbow back which caused the inkpot to topple over and spread ink all over his parchment.

"Not again!" He moaned, as he had an unusually bad habit of being careless around inkpots. It didn't matter where he was or who he was with but _somehow_ he always managed to spill the ink all over his parchment that he was in the middle of writing on. He blamed his left-handedness, and consequently, on his father as he too, wrote with his left hand.

Severus sighed and whispered _'Tergeo'_ so that the ink would wring itself out of the parchment and go back into the inkpot. He was too tired, that was it. The OWL examinations had worn him out. Thankfully, he had finished the essay and so he began to gather up his things. It was nearing five o'clock and so that meant he had an hour and a half before he had to go down to the Great Hall and eat dinner. Now that all fifth-year students had completed their OWLs in mid-June, they had spent the last month relaxing as they didn't have to go any lessons. Some NEWT introduction classes had been held for students to experience what the next year would be like, but aside from that the fifth-years could just enjoy their summer early. Some of the students had decided to go home already, but most of them had decided to stay at Hogwarts and be with their friends. There were also all the normal clubs being held and so the fifth-years didn't want to miss that! Severus hadn't left early as he hadn't particularly wanted to go and see his parents and also Lily had stayed, and she was his closest friend. It was always fun to have her around.

Severus got up and slung his bag over his shoulder as he exited the library. He felt a bit sleepy and wondered if he might be able to sneak in a nap before he went to go and eat dinner. He continued walking up the moving stairs up to the Slytherin common room when all of sudden he heard James Potter's loud and obnoxious voice.

"Snivellus! I'm about to go and crush your team out there, wish me luck!" James laughed, and only then did Severus notice he was wearing his Quidditch uniform.

Severus glared at James, he didn't care about the Slytherin Quidditch team! He wondered why everyone else was so obsessed about the sport. He quickly drew out his wand and raised it in the air, but James had already realised that Severus was going to hex him, and had his wand out at the ready also. They looked at each other for a moment before James yelled _'Redactum Skullus!'._ Severus responded immediately with _'Protego!'_

"Will you two bloody stop?!" A voice cried, and Severus turned around to see Mitchell Clearwater, the Slytherin Quidditch captain.

"You tried to shrink my head!" Severus screeched at James, who laughed in response.

"It's too large." James replied. "I was trying to do you a favour!"

"Get out of here, Potter!" Mitchell shouted at him. "You don't want to be too distracted, in case you lose to us? Goodness knows what the school will think if the _'Quidditch Hero'_ loses a match against his worst opponent!"

James scowled at Mitchell and walked away, with his broom in his hand. Severus was still shook from the event. _Potter had tried to shrink his head!_

Mitchell then turned to Severus and sighed as he scanned Severus' lanky frame from head to toe.

"You're playing today." He said.

Severus looked at Mitchell questioningly. What on earth was this seventh-year going on about?

"Playing what?" Severus asked, slowly.

Mitchell stared at Severus in disbelief.

"You're supposed to be smart, for Merlin's sake. Don't tell me you're actually thick now? Playing Quidditch, _obviously_!"

Severus couldn't respond. This has to be a joke; there was _no way_ he was actually being asked by the Slytherin Quidditch captain to play for their team in the match against Gryffindor. Did they _want_ to lose?

"Do you think you're being funny?" Severus said angrily. "Do you think this is a good laugh?"

"Oh, come off it, Snape. Why would I be joking? Gabriella Stone is injured, and we need someone to play for her."

"And you couldn't find _anyone_ else?" Severus said sarcastically. "No avid first-years who would be desperate to play instead?"

"First-years aren't good enough! We all agreed that we needed someone who is at least in fifth-year, and you're the first person I happen to find. We're running out of time. The game is going to start in five minutes! And trust me, you're not my first pick by any means."

Severus was slightly offended by the comment, but figured it didn't mean much. He _was_ terrible at sports, that everyone knew.

"I'm not going to do it." Severus said stubbornly. He was not about to be put in perhaps the most embarrassing situation of his life. "I haven't picked up a broom since first-year, when _Flying_ was compulsory!"

"You think I'm giving you a choice? If you don't do this, you'll think James Potter is an angel by the time I'm done with you." Clearwater said venomously.

"But I'm in Slytherin! You can't hurt me when I'm in your own house!" Severus protested.

"You're wrong." Clearwater said, in a tone so calm it frightened the life out of Severus. "And the fact I'm in Slytherin means you'll know how far I'll go to get what I want. We aren't afraid of anything."

Severus gulped, and tried to think of any excuse to get him out of playing in the match.

"I don't have a broom!" He exclaimed suddenly, and Mitchell shook his head.

"We'll get you one. It'll be rubbish for sure, but you'll have to deal with it."

"I don't have Quidditch robes!" Severus tried, but Mitchell had already begun dragging Severus down the stairs by the collar.

Two minutes later Severus was angrily being frogmarched to the Quidditch pitch, with his dirty and stained Slytherin Quidditch robes that were two sizes too big for him. He was given a battered old broom, which even he could tell was rubbish. He could hear James Potter hysterically laughing in the background at the sight of Severus.

"Is this a joke? Padfoot, did you do this?" James yelled at his friend, Sirius Black, who was stood in the Gryffindor stand. Severus saw Sirius grin and yell back, "Unfortunately not!"

Severus was shaken up with fear. He couldn't do this! He barely even knew how Quidditch worked! The loud chants of the Gryffindor supporters made his stomach squirm. He turned to look at the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw stand which was surprisingly full. However, it was known that the Slytherin vs Gryffindor match was a much awaited one, and students from every house loved to come and watch. The Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws also cheered for the Gryffindor team, and so the cheers of the Slytherin house were mostly drowned out.

"Mitchell!" Severus whispered at the Slytherin Quidditch captain who was stood next to him. "What position does Gabriella Stone play?"

"Oh, she's a Seeker." Mitchel said nonchalantly. "So you're going to have to catch the snitch."

Severus eyes widened so much he feared they would fall off.

"I can't do that!" He protested. "Can't you switch the positions in the team?"

"We don't have time!" Mitchell groaned at him. "If you hadn't spent so much time trying to get out of it…"

To this Severus didn't know what to say, so he gulped and tried to face what was going to happen. He only hoped that the Slytherin Quidditch team had three very good Chasers, or else they weren't going to win.

All of a sudden, the voice of Albus Dumbledore filled the Quidditch grounds. He had his wand held to his throat so that his voice would be resonated to allow everyone to hear him.

"Students!" He began. "Today, you join us for the final Quidditch match of this school year, between Slytherin and Gryffindor!"

The crowd cheered in response, and Dumbledore waited for silence to continue.

"I wish the very best of luck to both teams, and I also wish that Gabriella Stone has a speedy recovery, as I have been recently told that she has suffered a broom accident during the practise session for Slytherin this morning. Lastly, let the match begin!"

The referee, Rolanda Hooch, signalled the start of the match by releasing all four balls, the two Bludgers, the Snitch and the Quaffle. Rolanda Hooch through the Quaffle into the air which caused the two Bludgers and Snitch to fly off to their own accord. And so it began.

Severus barely even had time to process what was happening before he saw Mitchell swoop down on his broom to catch the Quaffle, and zoom upwards towards the Slytherin hoops. The atmosphere was ecstatic; he could hear the loud chants saying, _'Gryffindor! Gryffindor!'_

Mitchell continued flying towards the hoops and passed the Quaffle to another Slytherin player, although Severus did not their name. Severus began to feel a bit more confident, they weren't playing too bad! He carefully watched the Slytherin with the Quaffle aim to the hoops, and she raised her arm back to throw as hard as she could. The Quaffle flew towards the hoops, but the Gryffidor Keeper was too quick, and easily caught the Quaffle in their hands. Severus sighed, and barely noticed the voice who was yelling at him.

"Snape, watch out!" A blonde-haired girl with Slytherin Quidditch robes yelled at him.

Severus looked up to see who had yelled at him when suddenly he felt something hard crash into him, which completely knocked him off-balance. He felt himself cascading downwards at an incredibly fast speed, and tried to reach for his broom that was inches away from him, also falling down. He looked down and saw that he was going to hit the ground at any second. He could faintly hear screams in the background and prepared himself for the pain when he felt the tips of his fingers touch the broom. Somehow, he managed to grasp the broom in time and lift it up, causing him to blast upwards into the air.

"How on Earth did he manage that?" Severus heard a voice say, and he looked into the crowd to see Lily Evans cheering.

"That was amazing!" He heard her yell.

Severus looked around and saw many people congratulating him, but he had no idea how he'd managed it.

"Snape, again!" He heard the blonde-haired girl yell and this time he saw the Bludger hurtling towards him.

Severus flew upwards and thankfully saw the Bludger fly past, beneath him. _Quidditch is difficult, you have to pay attention all the time!_ Severus remarked. He then looked up to see James Potter whizzing towards the Gryffindor hoops, with the Quaffle securely held between his arms. Severus realised that the blond-haired girl was Slytherin's Keeper, and he shouted at Mitchel to ask for her name.

"Is this really the time?" Mitchell yelled at Severus, whilst he flew sideways to avoid the incoming Bludger. "Her name is Sophie Evergreen!"

Severus nodded at started yelling, _'Come on Sophie, you can save it!'_

He saw her look of determination as James Potter rapidly advanced towards her. James then lifted the Quaffle and flung it towards the centre hoop, and it gracefully went in. Severus heard Sophie groan in frustration, just before the Gryffindor crowd erupted in celebration.

"And that's ten points to Gryffindor!" The commentator, Melanie Phillips, cried.

"C'mon guys!" Mitchell Clearwater encouraged the Slytherin team, and as the match progressed the team started playing better.

Within ten minutes, Mitchell has scored twice, earning a total of twenty points. But Gryffindor had scored three more times, making a total of forty points. _I have to get that damn Snitch,_ Severus thought in exasperation. But how on Earth was he going to do it? Severus looked across to see one of the Gryffindor players looking around in concentration. Severus heaved a sigh of relief; they hadn't found the Snitch yet. Severus began to look around as well, wondering how he was going to be able to see the miniscule flying ball. It was impossible.

For the next five minutes Severus looked around, trying to find it whilst simultaneously avoiding the Bludgers that the Gryffindors' were aiming. Severus almost felt as if they were directing both the Bludgers at him only, and he felt it was unfair. _So rude,_ he said to himself. There were other Slytherin players too for Merlin's sake!

Severus was in the middle of dodging a Bludger when he caught the sight of something moving in his peripheral vision. The Snitch! Severus was surprised at the speed the golden ball was flying at; it went immensely fast! He began chasing it which he found to be a very difficult task. The ball flew in all sorts of directions! Severus found himself swooping upwards and downwards, left and right just to follow the stupid thing! He reached his hand forward to try and get closer when unexpectedly he was shoved to the left. Severus looked sideways to see the Gryffindor Seeker. She was a girl with jet-black hair and a face that almost said out loud, ' _You better not mess with me.'_ Why were all Quidditch players scary?

He continued flying parallel to her, and she tried on numerous occasions to bash him out of the way. Severus found that it wasn't too difficult to keep up with her, but actually moving ahead of her was the hard part. Why couldn't the darn Snitch just slow down? Severus was persuaded that they had been chasing the golden ball for at least ten minutes and he started to tire. He had already been tired before the match had even begun, and now he was expected to chase this tiny ball?

He started to slow down a little, hoping he would still be able to keep up with her, but he couldn't have been more wrong. As soon as she noticed his slowing down in pace, she smirked at him and said, 'Can't handle the speed? Don't worry, I'll catch the Snitch and you'll be able to rest soon!'

Severus glowered at her and started picking up the pace, but it was too late. She was already well ahead. Severus watched in frustration as she extended her fingers and finally managed to capture the Snitch in her palm.

"And Gryffindor has caught the Snitch! Gryffindor win!"

The sound of cheering and screams filled the pitch, and all Severus wanted to do was go back to his dormitory and forget it had ever happened. He flew down onto the ground and started making his way out of the Quidditch pitch.

"Severus! Severus, wait!" Severus turned to see Sophie flying down on her broom. She quickly dismounted it and ran towards him.

"You did really well for someone who hasn't ridden a broom in years." She complimented him

Severus shook his head. "I'm the reason we lost."

"You're not the entire reason. If only I'd saved Potter's throw…" She said, looking at the ground.

"Potter's really good." Severus said, surprising himself. Why was he complimenting his most hated enemy?

Sophie nodded, unconvinced. The pair began walking down to the changing rooms, and Severus realised that they only had a few minutes until dinner was served. He groaned in exasperation, much to Sophie's amusement.

"We always finish minutes before dinner. You'll have to get it used to it!" She laughed.

Severus looked at her with a frown.

"What do you mean?" He asked her.

"Well…aren't you going to try-out for the team next year?" Sophie inquired.

"Merlin, no!" Severus exclaimed in response. "I know you must be in sixth or seventh year, but surely you can tell that I'm not made for sports? Look at me!" Severus said, pointing to his lanky figure.

"Well your broom skills beg to differ. I've never seen someone execute a fall so well, apart from the people who've been playing on the team since first-year. You have a gift." She smiled at him warmly.

Severus tried hard not to guffaw. Surely, she was joking?

"So will you? Try out?" She asked, with a hopeful look on her face. "You could help us actually beat Gryffindor for once!"

"Maybe." Severus replied eventually, although he was certain he wouldn't. He had suffered enough embarrassment on that pitch to last a lifetime. But he had to acknowledge that it had been fun. It had given him a sort of rush, being on the pitch whilst the crowd was going crazy. Maybe he would try out. Maybe.


	2. Detention?

**Chapter Two: Detention?**

* * *

The Gryffindor common room was teeming with students partying, dancing to the music blasting from the large speakers and even singing along, in celebration of the Gryffindor's Quidditch team's superb win against Slytherin. Not one Gryffindor student was alone in their dormitory sleeping, and if there were they would certainly not be able to fall asleep due to the racket occurring downstairs. The atmosphere was buzzing, and even the shyer Gryffindor's seemed to be having a good time. These after-match parties were a brilliant way for Gryffindors to make new friends, and it was often the case that relationships flourished as a result of these parties. Merlin knows how many people had started dating at one of these events and it was James Potter's biggest hope that one day, he would ask Lily Evans out at one of these festivities, and she'd say yes. For now, however, the music was playing just as loud and everyone was having a fantastic time.

"Potter is the best, Potter is the best!" Was being chanted by all the Gryffindors in admiration. He was being carried across the swarm of students in the air across the entire room, and all the girls were trying to grab his leg, or his arm, or even his head.

Lily Evans watched from the corner of the room. She, too, was smiling and she had a drink of pumpkin juice in her hand. Unlike the others, she didn't want to end up with a hangover tomorrow. And besides, she had never been fond of the bitter taste of alcohol. She didn't know who always brought in the alcohol, but she suspected it was either James or Sirius. She doubted they had ever left a party without being drunk.

"Oi, Evans!" James yelled as he was being swept across the room, as if surfing a wave. A girl, who Lily presumed to be in second-year went to kiss his cheek, and got dragged up into the crowd of hands as well.

"Care to join me?" James asked, grinning.

"I'm alright, thanks!" Lily yelled back at him.

She bet he was enjoying every moment of it. He loved being popular, and if having random girls three years younger than you kiss you on the cheek wasn't a clear sign of being massively popular, then Lily didn't know what was. Lily was actually worried that Professor McGonagall would come in any second and scold them all as they were making so much noise. She wouldn't be surprised if the entire castle could hear them.

Lily then looked to the left to see Remus Lupin approaching her, with a wide smile on his face. The colour-changing lighting made his face appear red one second, and then green the other. It amused Lily.

"Hey." Remus greeted her, and she smiled back at him.

"Enjoying the party?" He asked her, and he had to raise his voice considerably just so she could hear him.

"As always." She responded with a yawn; she found herself being quite tired.

"Are you tired? I'm sorry to say, but I don't think you'll get much sleep tonight." He told her sympathetically.

"Yeah, I figured. They always have wild parties whenever we win, which is most of the time, so I'm used to it anyway." She said loudly, as the music had somehow gotten louder.

"I think this one's the wildest one." He grinned. "I think James has been starved of partying because of the OWLs and now he's going all out. Plus, it's the end of term."

"Am I right in assuming he's going to be hosting a bunch of parties during the summer?" Lily asked, expecting nothing less.

"Of course!" Remus exclaimed. "He's been doing so since first-year! He loves parties."

Sirius then joined the two, and Lily noticed he was slightly drunk. He was swaying from left to right, and had the look of complete contentment on his face.

"Alright, Evans?" He asked her, and Lily politely responded. She didn't like talking to Sirius when he was flat-out drunk, as she found it was rather hard to keep a conversation going with him.

Sirius nodded and then patted Remus on the back before proceeding to jump into the crowd, earning a very loud 'WOOOAAAHH!' from the students. Lily rolled her eyes, apparently they were all drunk.

"You don't drink?" Lily asked Remus as she noticed he seemed perfectly normal.

Remus shook his head. "No, not really. I don't like the feeling of not being in control of your own actions."

Lily nodded, sensing there was more to his words than what he was actually saying.

"Do you think I can sneak off without being caught by Filch?" She asked him, and he looked puzzled at her question.

"Where are you going?"

"Just to see someone." Lily replied, trying not to seem obvious. The whole world didn't have to know.

"Ah, have you got yourself a boyfriend?" Remus said after a few seconds of consideration. "James isn't going to like that."

"Well poor James will have to get over it." Lily said curtly, and Remus grinned in response.

"So I was right! What's his name, eh, Lily? You can tell me."

Lily shook her head. "I don't! Now tell me, what's the likelihood of me getting caught?"

Remus thought for a moment. "Not that likely. You'd think they'd be shouting at us, with all the noise we're making. But no one's come."

Lily nodded, and thanked him before sneaking out of the Gryffindor common room, hoping James hadn't seen her. He probably hadn't as he was too busy with all the attention he was receiving from the crowd. Once she was out of the common room, she was met with a various number of angry voices, coming from the portraits hung up on the wall.

"Can't you tell them to _shut up?!_ " One of the portraits shouted.

"Yeah! We're trying to sleep, you know!" Another one chimed in.

A dozen of the other portraits murmured in agreement, before the Fat Lady decided to have her say.

"Excuse me!" She yelled, furiously. " _I'm_ the one who's closest to the dammed room! I can hear _everything!_ That stupid boy, James Potter…let's just say the next time he wants go to his dormitory, he might just say the wrong password and be unable to get in!" She said venomously.

Lily didn't reply, instead she raced down the stairs and across to the Slytherin common room. She eagerly knocked on the door and asked for Severus Snape and after a few minutes, he came out. He was wearing a nightshirt, and Lily smiled at his messy hair. She must have woken him, but she was glad to see him. He looked so cute when he had just woken up. So vulnerable.

"Hello, Sev." She told him.

"Hey, Lily." He responded tiredly.

"I'm sorry for waking you up." She apologised. "I just wanted to say you were great out there today. It doesn't matter if you lost, anyway."

Severus nodded. "It was very embarrassing, even if I managed to not crash into the ground. I still can't believe that Clearwater even asked me. It's like he wanted to lose!"

Lily shook her head. "Nonsense. At least you'll never have to do it again."

To this Severus looked slightly uncomfortable, and Lily wondered if Clearwater had told him he'd be needed as a reserve or something.

"You're not a reserve, are you? Clearwater hasn't made you do that?" She asked him, hoping that he hadn't.

Severus looked surprised, "Oh, Merlin no. You don't need to worry about that!" He exclaimed.

Lily felt relieved, and smiled at him.

"Nonetheless, you still have some wicked skills on a broom. How come you never did that in _Flying_ lessons in first-year?" She asked him.

Severus cringed at the memory of those dreaded lessons. He had always been given the worst broom, the most bruised and weathered one with splintered wood at the handle so that you'd always end up with at least three splinters stuck in your hand after the end of the lesson. James had already had his own broom given to him by his parents, the rich sod.

"I'd rather you not remind me of first-year." He said, frowning.

Lily giggled in response, "Do you remember _me_ in first year? I couldn't even mount the broom, let alone fly it!"

Severus smiled at the memory of an eleven-year-old Lily Evans with her short, auburn hair. She had tried so hard to be good at _Flying_ but had never properly gotten the hang of it. Which was ironic, as she was brilliant at every other subject. Especially Potions, as was Severus. In fact, they shared the same best subject and worst subject.

"That's nothing compared to Benjamin Higgles!" Severus chuckled as he was suddenly reminded of the memory. "Do you remember when he-"

"Blasted his broom into Professor Sprout's window and made all the Mandrakes start crying ten times louder? How could I forget!" Lily exclaimed.

They both burst out laughing at the memory of poor Benjamin Higgles. He had received a great telling-off indeed, and hadn't been issued a detention ever since. The experience had scarred him and now he was perhaps one of the best behaved pupils in the entire school.

"The poor second-years who were in that class! I bet the earmuffs didn't do them much good! I heard that even when they buried them in the soil, they could still hear the Mandrakes crying!" Lily laughed, as she wiped a tear from her eye.

"Didn't Timothy Pearce say he could still hear them screaming in his ear two weeks later?" Severus asked, between his laughs. He was struggling for air and his sides hurt from laughing so much.

Lily nodded as she coughed, and then wiped her wet eyes once more.

"Oh, they were some good times." She sighed happily.

She went to sit down next to Severus on the floor, and rested her head against the wall.

After a few moments of silence, Severus spoke.

"It was fun, though, Lily."

Lily turned around to look at him, confused.

"What was?"

"Playing in the match. It felt like…I can't describe. I've never done something like that before."

Lily was very astonished. She hadn't expected that. To be honest, she had expected Severus to be rather upset over what had happened.

"That's…good." Lily said after a while. "I suppose you'll miss it."

Severus nodded, with an expression of uncertainty on his face.

"I suppose I will." He said thoughtfully.

However, Lily never noticed the expression of uncertainty on his face as she next heard the sound of Professor McGonagall's voice from the other end of the corridor.

"These students, I swear! They will be the death of me!" She exclaimed.

Lily presumed that the Gryffindor Head of House was heading over to the Gryffindor common room to tell them to be quiet and go to bed. She hadn't even noticed the loud sound of music echoing through the walls as she had been speaking to Severus. Now, however, the sound of partying was evident, and she wondered if Severus hadn't heard it either.

"Did you notice that?" She asked him, and he only smiled in response.

"How could I not? I'm pretty sure my father down in England can hear it."

Lily looked down at the floor, embarrassed. _Oh._

"I'm actually lucky I managed to fall asleep before the party began." Severus said. "I managed to get a few hours in, which is more than the rest of Slytherin, I suspect."

Lily suddenly felt immensely guilty.

"Oh Sev, I'm sorry for waking you!"

"No, don't be! I'm glad you came. I had some fun." He smiled at her.

Relieved, she smiled back.

"I guess I have to go, now." She said, and he wished her goodnight before returning through the doors of the Slytherin common room.

Lily then set off down the corridor and up the stairs up to the Gryffindor common room, where she was met, once again, by an angry Fat Lady.

"Your stupid Professor is making more noise shouting at them!" She complained.

Lily couldn't disagree; the stern voice of Minerva McGonagall echoed through the walls. Lily swallowed nervously. Hopefully she would be able to slip inside without the professor noticing. However, as soon as she entered the common room she realised this was not to be the case.

All the students were standing in the common room, being yelled at by Professor McGonagall. Once Lily entered the room, the professor turned to Lily and started asking her a series of questions.

"And where have you been, Miss Evans?" She accused her. "I am bitterly disappointed; you are supposed to be one of my greatest students!"

"Please, Professor, you don't know why I was out yet!" Lily protested, trying to conjure up a believable reason for which she was out after nine o'clock.

"And would you enlighten me, please?" Professor McGonagall asked Lily sternly, with her circle-shaped glasses falling to the tip of her nose. It made her appear ever scarier.

"I…I was actually trying to find you, Professor." Lily said hesitantly. "You see, I was actually tired myself and I wanted to find you to tell them to bring the noise down."

"Ah, come on Evans!" James yelled at her. "Don't be like that!"

"Please be quiet, Mr Potter!" Professor McGonagall shouted at him.

Lily took a moment to examine James, and she could see the disappointed look in his face. She hadn't _wanted_ to lie, but she didn't want to be put into detention either. Her gaze turned onto Remus who looked just as disappointed, and she felt a stab of guilt at her gut. _Oh come on guys!_ She said in her head. She hadn't done anything that bad. She then looked at Sirius who looked as if he was struggling to act sober. She was convinced he would pass out at any second. Finally, she looked at Peter Pettigrew, a boy she had never much liked. He seemed to be completely drunk, too.

"I do not like liars, Lily Evans. But to be a snitch too, that's even worse." Professor McGonagall said.

Lily gasped. _Rude bitch._

"Therefore you will have detention with me tomorrow morning. You don't have any lessons so I doubt you it will be any inconvenience."

"What about James? He organised the party!" Lily objected. There was no way she was going to get a detention and he wasn't.

"I know that, Miss Evans." Professor McGonagall sighed. "Which is why the _both of you_ will be serving detention with me tomorrow morning."

Lily groaned and turned around to see James Potter grinning.

"I'll see you then, Evans!" He shouted at her.

Lily rolled her eyes and marched her way upstairs to her dormitory. It had been worth it, after all. Laughing with Sev was always worth it.


	3. Summer Holidays

**Chapter Three: Summer Holidays**

* * *

"Come _on,_ Lily!" Severus yelled at the red-headed girl who was currently still shoving things into her disorganised trunk. It was very unlike her.

"Give me two minutes!" Lily protested, as she tried to lock the trunk brimming with clothes.

It hadn't been a very good idea to pack last minute, but she'd had a busy week. And she didn't feel like packing.

"You're usually the first one to be finished packing!" Severus remarked. "What's going on with you?"

"Nothing!" Lily lied.

She began hitting the trunk ferociously with both hands so she would finally be able to lock it. Luckily, Severus came to the rescue and was able to forcefully shut it with a large _oomph!_

"Wait!" Lily protested. "I need to open it up again! I forgot to put in my washbag!"

The fairly large teal washbag was still sitting on the floor next to the trunk, forgotten.

"Lily…" Severus groaned. "We don't have time!"

"It will take one minute, I promise!" Lily reassured him, but Severus knew better.

"We don't _have_ one minute, Lily. The thestrals are just going to walk to the train station without us! Look, there's only one carriage left!"

They were currently a few metres away from Hogwarts Gate, and it was a miracle they had even gotten that far as Lily had been dragging her very much open trunk along with her all the way from the actual castle, which was a fair few hundred metres away.

"Just let me op-" Lily began.

"Carry it in your hand!" Severus told her, and the pair started running past the open gates and to the carriage.

"Lily Evans and Severus Snape, the last ones on my list." Argus Filch said as he crossed out the names in the long parchment roll he held in his hands. "Hurry up, you two!"

They did what they were told and hopped into the carriage, that quickly departed. Severus watched as Argus Filch closed the gates and walked back up the path to Hogwarts Castle.

"He must live at Hogwarts all year." He told Lily, who was apparently not listening.

She was frantically looking through her washbag, making sure she hadn't left a toothbrush behind.

"Lily!" Severus exclaimed.

"What?!" She replied, startled.

"Is it the detention you got with Potter that's making you so…all over the place?" He asked her.

"What? No! That stupid boy can't possibly affect _me._ " Lily shook her head.

"No, I don't mean him. I think it's just the fact you got detention has shaken you up. You've never gotten one before. And plus, it's the end of term. You must be really annoyed." He told her sympathetically.

"I _am_ really annoyed Sev! I had a clean slate for five years, and now it's all ruined! What must Professor McGonagall think of me…"

"I'm sorry." Severus apologised. "It's my fault-"

"No, it's me who went to see you. I was just silly." Lily sighed.

"Don't think about." Severus told her. "Come on, it's the summer holidays! Surely that's enough to make you smile?"

"Hmmn." Lily murmured in response.

During the rest of the journey the pair remained silent, and even when they got on Hogwarts train and had to share a compartment with a bunch of first-years, they didn't speak much. Severus didn't think Lily wanted to talk, and so he left her to think in silence.

* * *

Severus had already planned out in his head what he was going to do all summer. He was going to get ahead on the NEWT syllabus for all six subjects he was taking, and he was going to try and find all the Quidditch books his mother owned. He knew she had quite a large collection of books about magic, and although Severus knew very well that his father would kill him if he ever read one of them, he knew his mother wouldn't mind.

In fact, she encouraged him to read them. Eileen Snape was a coward of a woman, but she did want the best for her son and if that meant letting her son read her books, then she was going to supply all of her much-loved leather-bound books until she had none left to give. Many times when Severus was half-asleep, he would hear his mother open the door to his bedroom and would peek an eye open to see her slide a new book in the gap between his wardrobe and the wall, which was where he had to keep all his books, or his mother's books, rather, so that his father would not find them.

Severus knew that his mother had a fair few books about Quidditch (he had once run into the basement as a bored six-year-old with nothing to do, and saw a large bookcase with books of all sizes stacked inside. He recalled the largest books had the words _'Quidditch'_ written on them as he had quickly been able to learn how to read during the few years he went to Muggle school), but she had never given any of them for him to read because she probably suspected he wasn't interested in sports. And that had been the case, up until a week ago. Severus couldn't get over the fantastic memory of soaring into the sky after the Bludger had been aimed at him. He would have liked to see the look on James Potter's face then!

And so when he returned home for the summer holidays, by bus as neither of his parents ever went to collect him from the train station, he went to hug his mother, which was not a usual practise between the mother and her son. After giving her a short recount of what had happened during the school year, he asked her if she could give him any books she had on Quidditch.

"Quidditch? You're interested in sports, Severus?" Eileen asked, with a frown on her tired and pale face. She looked sickly.

"Yes, sort of. It's for…a project. Set over the summer holidays." Severus lied.

He didn't want to tell her about the match. He suspected her reactions wouldn't be super positive or joyful.

"What project?" Eileen asked suspiciously.

"It's part of my _History of Magic_ course. They've integrated sports into the NEWT syllabus." Severus said confidently.

"Alright." Eileen sighed eventually.

"But I've only got five books on Quidditch, so you haven't got much to go on-" She began, before the loud slam of the front door being opened resonated through the entire house.

"It's your father!" Eileen gasped, worriedly.

Tobias Snape walked into the living room where Severus and Eileen were sat, and took a long, hard look at his son.

"You're back." He stated coldly.

Severus could tell his father wasn't too happy at his arrival back home.

"Thought you were comin' tomorrow. Would've come home earlier from work to welcome you back." Tobias said.

Severus could feel his father's eyes boring into his Hogwarts robes and trunk. He probably thought his son looked ridiculous.

"You gonna say anything, boy?" Tobias demanded after a few seconds of silence.

"H-Hello, Dad." Severus stammered.

"We've missed you Severus, haven't we, Tobias?" Eileen asked, being wary of her husband.

Tobias Snape guffawed loudly.

"Sure. Sure I miss my weird, freak of a son!" He yelled.

Eileen's eyes widened in fear.

"No, Tobias, don't say that-"

Severus was certain his mother had just tried, and failed, to get his father to be nice to him just once, as she always did each time he got back from Hogwarts. And each time, it ended up like this. He wondered why she even bothered.

"I'll say what I want, you stupid woman!" Tobias snarled. "Get out of my sight, both of you!"

Severus grabbed his trunk and ran up the creaky stairs to his small bedroom, where he tried to calm down. He spent the rest of the day in there deciding to study to take his mind off things, and only came out for dinner, during which his father wasn't present. Severus presumed he'd gone down to the pub to once again waste what little money they had.

" _I've earnt it, Eileen."_ His father would say when his mother would beg him not to go out. _"If you started earning money y'self, then you can talk!"_

Later that evening, at around ten o'clock, just before he was going to bed, Severus heard a knock at his door. He prayed that it wasn't his father, as he could only just imagine what he would do, especially if he was drunk. But thankfully, it was his mother.

"Here you go." She whispered, holding a pile of five thick books.

One by one, she inserted them into the hiding place, and she then turned to look at her son. In the moonlight that streamed from Severus' window, he could see a large purple bruise that framed her left eye.

"Mum…" He said sadly.

She only shook her head.

"Don't bother wasting your time on me. Just concentrate on yourself and your studies, Severus. Merlin knows you'll be a great wizard one day." She smiled at him, and her eyes filled with tears.

"Mum, don't let him hit you! Don't let him win!" Severus whispered.

He couldn't bear to see his mother like this. Even if she hadn't been the perfect mother, it didn't mean he didn't care for her. Her and him against his father, it had always been that way. He wasn't going to abandon her now.

"Why did you ask him if he missed me?" Severus asked her, wonderingly. "You knew what he was going to do…"

Eileen nodded sadly, and Severus could see that tears were running down the sides of her nose.

"I knew what he would do. But every year…I hope he's changed. That he will be kind. But he never is." She sobbed.

"Oh, mum." Severus said, and they hugged again.

It was strange for Severus to hug his mother _twice_ in one year, let alone in one day. But he knew that she needed it.

* * *

The five Quidditch books were nothing short of inspiring. Severus had read all of them twice in one week, and he particularly liked and enjoyed reading, _'Quidditch Through The Ages'_. He found it incredibly interesting to discover the past of Quidditch and how it had come about. The four other books were more focused on present-day Quidditch and the champions of the Quidditch World Cup in the last decades. But _'Quidditch Through The Ages'_ was so much more than that. No wonder it was the most popular book in the Hogwart's library! He had wanted to take it out the library and bring it back home, but of course books could not be borrowed over the summer holiday. He was extremely fortunate that his mother had a copy, although it was one of those books that could be found in every witch's or wizard's household across England.

Severus now knew the rules of Quidditch by heart. The game he had experienced suddenly made a lot more sense. He now knew exactly what a 'Bludger' was, and he was quite annoyed at himself for almost falling off his broom within the first thirty seconds of the game because of one!

And he was ecstatic to go and share his knowledge with Lily, with whom he regularly met up with during the holidays. His father would rather he be out of the house anyway, and so meeting up with Lily suited him fine. They usually met up at the small park that was located a short distance from both of their houses. As Lily lived in the more _posh_ side of town, so to speak, he was rather inclined to go to the park a few minutes early so that she would feel safe. The park was nearer the rough side of town, the side where Severus lived.

They had already met up numerous times during the holidays, but this particular time was an especially important one as they were to receive their OWL results the very next day.

Severus had been waiting for no more than five minutes before Lily arrived, and he noticed she was wearing a floral dress, and beige sandals. She held a fan in her hand and was waving it about almost frantically.

"It's _so_ hot!" She complained, as she kicked off her sandals to go and bury her feet in the sand pit of the park.

Severus joined her in the sand pit, but he kept his shoes on. He didn't really like the feeling of sand. And besides, it got everywhere. His father would not be happy if he found a trail of sand on the stairs.

"How are you surviving? You're wearing a jumper!" Lily exclaimed.

Severus peered down to look at his old navy jumper that had previously been his father's. It was much too large for him, but he didn't have much else to wear. Besides, he was actually lucky his father had given him his jumper, as it wasn't something his father would regularly do.

"I'm fine." Severus said, shrugging his shoulders.

He noticed that Lily's eyes seemed a little red, and wondered if she had been crying earlier.

"Hey, are you okay?" He asked her.

"Well…Petunia's being nasty again…" Lily admitted, with her lip wobbling.

"What did she say?" Severus asked her with pity.

"Oh, it's not what she says. It's how she _acts._ " Lily muttered.

"What do you mean?" Severus asked her.

"Dad and Mum wanted to get me a 'Welcome Home' present, but she obviously got jealous. I don't understand why she thinks she can get a present too- she's at home all year! Anyway, they got me a new dress, but Petunia cut a hole in it-on purpose! She's vile, Sev!" Lily cried.

Severus had never been fond of Petunia; she had always made fun of him being poor. But he did feel a certain sympathy for her. He knew she had desperately wanted to go to Hogwarts, and so every time Lily returned for the holidays it just reminded her of the fact she didn't get in. No wonder she was nasty to her. Still, it didn't justify her actions.

"Did you tell your parents?" He asked her.

"Of course! But they only shouted at her for two seconds, and then they forgot all about it!" She complained.

"Well, you've got other stuff to think about, Lily!" Severus reminded her. "Did you forget about our OWLS?"

"Ugh, don't remind me!" Lily groaned. "It's tomorrow, isn't it?"

Severus nodded and she groaned again.

"I don't want to do NEWTs!" Lily protested. "OWLS were bad enough…"

Severus shook his head and laughed. Was he the only one looking forward to doing NEWTs? He liked doing exams, he liked learning about things. Being knowledgeable was one of his favourite things. _As well as Quidditch_ , he reminded himself. Over the past month he had become completely obsessed with the sport, and now he was almost one hundred percent sure he was going to try-out for the team. He realised that he hadn't spoke about it with Lily yet.

"I've been reading loads of Quidditch books." He told her.

Lily seemed surprised.

"Have you? How come?" She asked.

"I find it really interesting. I don't know why, but I think sports are great now."

Lily burst out laughing.

"Sev, you hate sports!" She reminded him.

"Not anymore." He said. "I might try-out for the Slytherin team this year, actually."

Lily shook her head and smiled.

"Don't be silly, Sev."

Her response discouraged him greatly, and he decided to drop the subject entirely. Why did she take it as a joke? Severus was aware of the fact that for five years he had completely ignored sports and was entirely disinterested in any conversation someone might be having on the topic, but couldn't she see that he had changed? Now he _loved_ Quidditch. And he wanted to play! Sophie had said he had some talent, after all.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you." Lily said suddenly. "I'm sorry for acting so cold and strange the day we left Hogwarts. I should have apologised earlier but…"

"Don't worry about it." Severus reassured her. "It's okay."

"No, it's not okay, Sev. I'm sorry. Truly. James Potter was annoying me so much that last week and during the detention where we had to scrub the floors of the Great Hall with no use of magic, well…I cracked. He kept pestering me to go out with him. Can't he tell I'm not interested? Anyway, after that I just completely lost my cool. I was in a bad, irritated mood for the rest of that week." Lily admitted.

"Well, get ready for more of that in two weeks!" Severus said.

"Two weeks?! We've only got two weeks left?" Lily exclaimed in annoyance.

"Yep. We actually should be getting our schools supplies soon." He reminded her.

Severus joined Lily and her parents each year to do the school shopping, as it wasn't as if his parents would ever take him. Petunia was dragged into coming along, much to her frustration. Severus refused the many attempts Lily's parents made at giving him some more money as he had barely enough to buy some books and new quills. Severus always refused however, as he knew he could go to the Wizard Charity Shop, where he found all of the supplies he needed. Lily's parents always seemed uncomfortable when they walked into that charity shop, as really no one went there. But Severus felt quite at home as he scanned the shelves for books at prices so low many would wonder if they were actually books, or just pictures of books.

"Yes, I need to tell them." Lily made a mental note in her head.

They spent the next few hours chatting about what the next school year was like, and all the time Severus was secretly wondering what her reaction would be if he actually got into the Slytherin Quidditch team. It would be a priceless look for sure, he imagined, smiling.


	4. Try-Outs

**Chapter Four: Try-Outs**

* * *

When Severus Snape stepped onto the Platform 9 and ¾, it felt as if he had just arrived back from Hogwarts, and his summer holiday was yet to be had. But he could not mistake the weight of the (thankfully over) summer holidays hanging heavily on his shoulders. He could not believe it had been two weeks since he had received his OWL results. They were, of course, spectacular. Severus had managed to achieve an _Outstanding_ in every subject, and he had been delighted. But one minute had not passed when Severus' father had snatched his results paper away from him and said, in a furious tone,

" _What did I say about magic in this house?"_

Severus had protested that they were only his examination results, and that he had actually done relatively well. But all in vain. It only aggravated Tobias Snape further. Tobias had delivered a rather well-needed slap, in his opinion, which left Severus with a red hand-mark across his left cheek. Severus was not fazed, however. He knew his wretched drunk of a father could do _much_ worse.

Tobias had then proceeded to grab Severus by the collar to warn him that if he ever spoke of magic in his house ever again, he would not get off so lightly. Severus had been secretly raging in his head. He had never said anything about magic anyway! Was holding an examination results paper a crime?

Severus continued to pull his trunk along the platform when he thought to when he had revealed his results to Lily. She had offered her congratulations, and had, rather sourly, admitted she had achieved an _Outstanding_ in every subject apart from one.

" _Defence Against The Dark Arts is too hard! I'm not taking it at NEWT level anyway."_ She had said, in a dismissing tone.

Severus had been rather sad at this fact as he had hoped they could take the subject together. But he had already realised that him and Lily were quite different, and it was ridiculous, really, to expect her to do exactly as he did.

He was suddenly pulled out of his thoughts when the loud and cheerful voice of Mrs Evans greeted him.

"Severus Snape!" She yelled at him, and he had to look around frantically to see her waving sixty metres away.

Severus looked at Mr Evans who was standing beside her, who was smiling t him pleasantly. Severus smiled back before turning his gaze onto Lily who was having difficulty carrying her trunk.

"Tuney, if you could just help me!" He heard Lily say, and Severus then looked at Petunia, who he hadn't even realised was there.

"I don't _want_ to help you. And don't call me _'Tuney'_." Petunia replied angrily.

Severus then saw Mr Evans frown at Petunia, and went to whisper something in her ear to which she rolled her eyes.

"I know you don't want to be here-" Lily started, only to be interrupted by an annoyed Petunia.

"Of course I don't want to be here! I'd rather be hanging out with my mates, or watching the telly, or even staring at a blank ceiling! Anything but be here!" She exclaimed.

Even from the distance and with the crowd of people walking around, Severus could see the hurt in Lily's face.

"Your mates." Lily repeated. "You mean that stupid Vernon Dursley, don't you? You've been seeing him all summer!"

"So what if I have?" Petunia argued.

"He's vile!" Lily shot back, raising her voice slightly.

"Oh and what about your creepy friend over there? And he's not vile?" Petunia spat.

"Don't you dare say anything about Severus!"

"Oh, so _that's_ his name…"

Severus never heard the rest of the conversation as Mrs Evans scolded her two daughters and went to go and kiss Lily goodbye. Severus watched the affair like an ant might watch two people dancing- having no clue what they were watching was like, or even comprehending it. Severus' goodbye to his parents had been very short, and was of few words. There had been no hugging or kissing involved, and certainly not from his father. His mother had just nodded at him and told him to be a good boy, but Severus could tell she was trying to be cautious in front of his father.

Soon after, both Severus and Lily had gotten onto the train and found a carriage to sit in. Luckily, they had managed to find an empty one and Lily was able to wave at her parents (Severus doubted she was waving at Petunia) one last time before the train set off. And so the journey had started.

* * *

Although Severus hated the first meal that was had in the Great Hall to celebrate the start of a new school year, he couldn't help but acknowledge how beautiful the large room really was. The small candles that floated around the room gave the room a warm glow, and the oblong tables were covered with bowls of steaming hot pasta, plates full of jacket potatoes and there were dozens of saucers filled with bread. The entire hall smelt delicious, and Severus knew everyone couldn't wait to tuck in.

The main reason Severus didn't like the event was because he was forced to sit at the Slytherin table, and hence not with Lily. It wasn't as fun without his best friend, and so he usually kept himself busy by stuffing himself with mouthfuls of food. He was rather lucky all the dishes were ravishing, that he knew very well. Back at home, he didn't have much to eat, and it was certainly not any food worth getting excited over. So he ate as much as he could whilst he was at Hogwarts, as it was only opportunity to fatten up. However stuffing his mouth to the brim came with a price- he tended not to engage with anyone on his table.

Hence why he was completely taken aback when someone went to sit next him. He even choked a bit on the spaghetti he was chewing, and had to gulp down all of his water.

"Are you alright?" Sophie Evergreen asked.

"Y-yes." Severus responded once he had finished swallowing the water.

He coughed a few times more until he could speak normally again. He watched Sophie start to pile some food on her plate and Severus was desperately wondering why she hadn't gone to sit with her friends. After all, no one sat next to Severus Snape unless they had the choice.

"I hope you've decided to try-out for the Quidditch team this year." Sophie said as she started to tuck in.

Severus was unable to respond as Dumbledore had started speaking. All eyes in the room turned to the headmaster who stood confidently in front of the tall podium.

"Welcome, students," he began, "to this school year at Hogwarts. I hope, as always, that it shall be one of achievement and celebrations. I have to congratulate our students who sat their OWLs and NEWTs last summer, as I am sure they have all been successful. We are very proud of all our students, and we hope that you will continue to work just as hard this year. Lastly, I implore you to tuck in to this great feast!"

Severus saw Professor McGonagall frowning at him from the teacher's table for having already started eating, and he could only look at her sheepishly in response.

"So are you?" Sophie asked him again, and this time Severus responded eagerly.

"Yes! Although I'm not sure I'll get in…" He laughed nervously.

"I think you will." Sophie smiled. "You'd be surprised, not many Slytherins even bother trying out. I suspect some think Quidditch is a stupid sport that ought not to be played by people of higher class and status."

"But that's ridiculous!" Severus said, surprised. "Surely they go and watch the Quidditch World Cup?"

Even if he hadn't been interested in sports, he always knew about the Quidditch World Cup as everyone always went on about it.

"They do." Sophie agreed. "Bunch of hypocrites."

She shook her head, and Severus suspected she was probably referring to someone close to her. Perhaps her father?

"Do your parents like Quidditch?" Severus asked, interested.

He wondered what her parents thought of her being a Quidditch player, as a girl. Severus knew the Wizarding World was much more equal in terms of gender than the Muggle World, but some of the older generation still disapproved of witches playing Quidditch. They thought it wasn't a very feminine sport.

"Not much." Sophie admitted. "They listen when I talk about it but…I don't think they care very much."

"Surely they know how good of a Keeper you are?" Severus asked her, making her smile a little.

"I'm not that good." Sophie sighed. "I'm still annoyed about that goal I let in from Potter."

"It's just one goal." Severus said.

"But that's ten points." Sophie responded, frustrated. "I practise so much, so it's really irritating when I let a goal in."

"You shouldn't worry about it. Has Gabriella Stone recovered well?" Severus asked, changing the subject.

"Oh yeah, she's okay now." Sophie relayed. "But I don't think she's interested in Quidditch anymore."

"What?! How come?" Severus enquired.

How could one become disinterested in Quidditch? It was an amazing sport! She just needed to read _'Quidditch Through The Ages'_ again, Severus thought. That book was bound to get her back into Quidditch.

"I'm not sure." Sophie said truthfully. "But after she recovered, she told everybody that she didn't want to play anymore. It was quite a bad accident, to be fair."

"What actually happened?" Severus hadn't really been told what had occurred that day the Slytherin went to practise for the match.

"She fell off her broom." Sophie replied. "And crashed into one of the stands. She broke her leg, and two ribs."

"And she's recovered already?" Severus said, astonished.

Broken bones didn't heal that fast!

"Severus, this isn't the Muggle World. It's easy to fix broken bones." Sophie giggled.

"Right." Severus responded.

He knew how easy it was for wizard doctors, but the efficiency of her recovery still astounded him.

"You would never have had that accident." Sophie told him. "Not with that great skill of yours."

"That was a stroke of luck." Severus said, modestly.

"No, it was a stroke of brilliance." Sophie grinned at him.

* * *

Severus had one of the best nights of sleep that he'd enjoyed in a while, and he lazily stretched his arms in his dormitory bed. Although he knew it was going to be bitterly cold once he got out of bed, he managed to force himself out and started getting changed. He'd always been an early riser, and he rather appreciated the mornings. He frequently used them as a means of getting ahead on schoolwork, and most of the time he had managed to get in a solid one or two hours of work in the library before breakfast.

He quickly got dressed, brushed his teeth and slung his satchel over his shoulders and made his way down the Slytherin Tower. Once he arrived at the Slytherin common room, a large poster that was pinned on the notice board caught his eye and he walked closer to read it.

 _ **QUIDDITCH TRY-OUTS!**_

 _Do you like Quidditch?_

 _Fancy being a Seeker?_

 _Think you'd be able to catch the Snitch?_

 _Why not go to the Slytherin Quidditch try-outs this Thursday from 1.00pm – 2.00pm?_

 _All years are welcome!_

Severus couldn't help but smile as he read the large poster. _Merlin, yes,_ he thought as he looked at the moving image of the Syrian Quidditch team who had won the Quidditch World Cup in 1974, two years ago. He hoped they would be able to offer him a broom, as he didn't have one. Surely they couldn't expect everyone to have their own broom? Especially first-years!

Severus then walked out of the common room and up to the library where he found Lily studying vigorously. This was rather surprising, as although Lily was very hardworking, she tended not to study early in the mornings. She liked to wake up at late as possible; after seven o'clock if possible.

"Hey." He greeted her with a nod. "How come you're up so early?"

"I'm really trying to get better grades this year." She confessed to him. "I'm even sacrificing my sleep."

"Lily, you don't have to do that." Severus told her. "You can study in the afternoons. You'll just make yourself more tired of you wake up early."

He knew that she wouldn't be able to keep up with it anyway. She liked sleeping too much, he smiled to himself.

"Do you not want me here, Sev?" Lily asked him jokingly.

He smiled back.

"You know that's not it. I just don't want you to burn yourself out." He warned her.

Lily nodded, in thought.

"Why can't I just get your grades without working?" She complained.

"Hey, I have to work hard too!" Severus reminded her.

"Not nearly as much." Lily huffed.

"That's what _you_ think." Severus shook his head.

She had no idea how many hours he had spent laboriously reading over textbooks, whilst she was probably sleeping, or relaxing.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you." Severus said, realising he hadn't told her about the try-outs on Thursday. "I'm trying out for the Quidditch team this Thursday."

Lily frowned.

"Sev, are you sure that's a good idea?" She raised her eyebrows.

"Why not?" Severus questioned her.

"Well…it's just that you're doing so many subjects. You've got a lot of work to do. Do you really have the time to play Quidditch as well?"

"I probably won't even get in!" Severus laughed to try and relieve the tension in the atmosphere.

"I'm just saying you should focus on your studies." Lily said quietly.

"I know." Severus responded.

The subject was not brought up again, and they continued to study together until it was time to go and have breakfast.

* * *

Severus knew that Lily was trying to protect him. He knew that she didn't want him to get hurt, if he failed in the try-outs and was mocked by everybody. But she didn't understand. He loved Quidditch now. The idea of playing the sport excited him tremendously, and he didn't think he would be that devastated if he didn't get into the team. Besides, Sophie had been pretty adamant about him coming to the try-outs. She wouldn't have encouraged him if he didn't have some talent, would she?

He was standing in the boys' changing rooms, looking at himself in the mirror. He looked so strange in Quidditch robes. He wasn't used to seeing himself like that. But he liked how he looked more confident, and how the robes made him feel. Luckily, he had managed to find robes that actually fitted him. At least this time, he wouldn't look ridiculous.

Finding a good broom was another problem, however. Once again he was left with the old and battered broom that he had used for the one match he had played. Apparently he had been wrong and all the first years _did_ in fact have their own brooms. The lucky rich bastards. But there was nothing he could do now. With the terrible broom in hand, he marched into the Quidditch pitch and saw the crowd of Slytherins listening to Mitchell Clearwater make a speech. There were quite a lot of them, which was surprising as Sophie had said usually not many people showed up. He quickened his pace and joined the group whilst Mitchell continued to talk.

"Since there's quite a few of you, this might take longer than expected. We're gonna sort you out into groups based on positions, so whoever wants to be a Keeper go over _there,_ if you wanna be a Chaser go over _there,_ Beaters over _there_ and lastly Seekers over _here._ "

The group of Slytherins dispersed and Severus soon found himself in the Seeker's group, that consisted of three people including himself. One of them was in second-year, although she seemed to be the most threatening out of the group.

"Let the try-outs begin!" Mitchell yelled.

Severus gulped.


	5. The Results

**Chapter Five: The Results**

* * *

The try-outs were brutal, to say the least. The second-year who was also trying out to be the Seeker had quickly let him know that she wasn't messing around.

" _I_ am going to be Slytherin's Seeker." She had accosted him under her breath. "So don't think for a second that you have a chance."

Her words only exacerbated the overwhelming feeling of panic that was causing him to feel out of breath- and he hadn't even mounted his broom yet! Severus turned away from her and assessed his other rival- an aggressive-looking boy who was in seventh-year. _Great,_ Severus thought in his head. _Even if I manage to do better than her, there's no way I'm going to beat him._

Fortunately for Severus, the Keepers were being assessed first, then the Beaters, then the Chasers and finally the Seekers were going last. For half an hour, Severus watched in wonder as students from all years battled against each other to secure their place in the Slytherin Quidditch team. The Chasers proved their strength by hurling the Quaffle towards the hoops, and the Keepers showed their skill in their ability to stop the goal being scored. The Beaters were tested in their ability to aim Bludgers with accuracy and precision, and also how well they could block and dodge Bludgers coming their way. Severus watched as Mitchell Clearwater scribbled those who had gotten into the team in his notebook, and he wondered whether his name would make it to the lined paper. Every so often the crowd of Slytherins who had come to watch the try-outs would cheer at a skillful move, and Severus greatly wished that they would leave before he would go on. But he had no such luck.

"Alright Seekers, it's your turn. Since there are only three of you, this should be quick. I'm going to release this Golden Snitch," Mitchell opened up his hand to reveal the small snitch sitting comfortably in his palm, "and whichever one of you is able to catch it, wins."

The three contestants nodded and began to mount their brooms, and Severus watched as the second-year girl confidently smiled to him and whispered, 'Don't worry, I won't take long."

 _Why are all Slytherins so arrogant and overconfident?_ Severus wondered. No wonder no one liked them. In fact, it was rather peculiar that he was in this house at all as he was _anything_ but confident.

"Are you all ready?" Mitchell asked.

"Yes, hurry up already!" The second-year complained with an exaggerated yawn. "I want to eat lunch someday!"

Mitchell rolled his eyes and then extended his arm out, with his fingers outstretched. He then counted to three and then released the snitch into the air. Without a moment's hesitation, the second-year girl and seventh-year boy zoomed upwards into the sky as they began chasing the miniscule snitch. The speed of their departure left Severus dumbfounded for a few seconds, until he shook his head and rapidly joined them. He scolded himself for having lost three precious seconds, but he quickly forgot about his mistake as he focussed on the task ahead: getting that bloody snitch!

But they were so far ahead, and Severus could tell that he was going to have to find a different way of getting his hands on the snitch; following their lead was not going to work. He could see that the boy was slightly ahead of the girl, and he could also see that this annoyed her greatly.

The pair were making their way around the bend of the far-right of the stadium and the snitch was a good five metres away from the seventh-year's grasp. _They're going to pass me any second, so I just need to get in position…_ Severus thought, but the thought left his mind when he heard something travelling fast towards him. A Bludger. Severus soared downwards just in time, and the Bludger then started hurtling towards the two other contestants. They were now dangerously close to catching the snitch, as the golden ball was now a mere metre and a half away from them. It appeared that the girl had caught up, and the two were now neck-and-neck to each other.

 _I'm going to lose._ Severus confirmed in his head. One of the pair was going to catch it, and they would become Slytherin's new Seeker. Why did he even bother? He was just Snivellus, after all. Maybe Potter was right.

The boy and girl kept on advancing forward when all of the sudden the Bludger that had been flying their way abruptly came into contact with the pair of them, and the girl's scream of anguish resonated in the stadium ground. They both managed to stop themselves from crashing to the ground but they had fallen at least ten metres or so, and the damage had been done. Severus took his chance while he could- he sped up as fast as his rubbish broom would allow him and he started to follow the tiny snitch. Up and down, left and right, he was soon feeling dizzy as the snitch relentlessly travelled in all directions. However, in no less than thirty seconds, Severus knew that he had some company. He could sense the two now angry students behind him, and he knew that if he wanted to be the next Slytherin Seeker, he had to catch the snitch fast.

Another Bludger bolted towards Severus and again he managed to successfully avoid it, but still keep the snitch in his line of sight. More and more Bludgers were being directed his way, and Severus had to twist his body and the broom in all sorts of awkward positions just to avoid it. He could vaguely hear the cheer of the small crowd and he knew that he was doing well.

The snitch was only one metre away from him now. Severus could almost feel the snitch's rims and dents in his own hands. He carefully let one hand go from the broom's grip and stretched as far as he possibly could. But it was not far enough, so he then pulled his hand back and tried again, this time adjusting himself further along the broom so he could reach out and grab the snitch. Time seemed to stop as his fingers inched closer and closer, and when he felt the cold exterior of the small sphere with the tips of his fingers, he could hardly believe it. But it was not over yet.

Another Bludger was quickly approaching, but Severus hardly had any time to react when the Bludger advanced towards him. He managed to dodge it, but the sudden movement had caused him to lose his balance and he then felt himself cascading downwards. The snitch escaped from his fingertips and he could no longer find it once he had managed to regain control of his broom, which earned another cheer from the crowd.

"THE TRY-OUTS HAVE ENDED!" Mitchell declared loudly, and all three contestants flew back to the ground.

"He never touched the snitch!" The girl shouted angrily before she had even reached the ground.

Once her feet touched the grass, she threw her broom to the side and marched up to Mitchell.

"He never touched the snitch!" She repeated.

"The snitc-" Mitchell started, but he was quickly interrupted.

"We need to re-do this!" The girl insisted. "He _never_ actually touched the snitch!"

"I agree." The boy from seventh-year said. "I don't think he ever actually touched it. Where is the snitch anyway?"

"Are all of you stupid?!" Mitchell exclaimed irritably. "Don't you know how Quidditch works? _I've_ got the snitch."

He once again revealed the snitch that was sat in his palm.

"Why didn't you let it fly so someone could actually catch it and win? You ended the try-out for no reason because it looks like _he_ touched it, but he didn't!" The girl argued defiantly.

" _I_ didn't do anything! The game ends when the snitch is caught, and Severus Snape did indeed touch it. The snitch is designed to recognise who touches it first, so that arguments like _this_ about whether someone really touched it or not don't happen. Don't you know the basics of Quidditch?" Mitchell accused them both.

"But that doesn't count as actually _catching_ the snitch!" The girl spat back.

"If you have a problem about what actually counts as catching a snitch, then you can go and file a complaint to the International Confederation of Wizards' Quidditch Committee." Mitchell told her in annoyance.

"Even if he did catch it, you never told us we were going to have to dodge Bludgers!" The seventh-year boy protested.

"Exactly!" The second-year girl agreed. "That's completely unfair!"

"That's how Seekers have to operate in actual matches!" Mitchell shouted, now very frustrated. "You weren't supposed to know, that was the whole point. It was a test to see how well you can operate with Bludgers being thrown at you, as would happen in a normal match."

"That wasn't part of the try-out last year." The boy grumbled.

"I decided to add it in to see who's really the best Seeker." Mitchell shot back. "And it's proved very effective."

"I bet you told him!" The girl criticized, pointing at Severus who had been quietly making his way out of the stadium, out of earshot.

"You can keep thinking that, if it will make you sleep better at night." Mitchell told her in the most condescending tone he could muster.

The look on her face proved that it was worth it, and he proceeded to watch her storm out of the stadium, shoving Severus aside as she did so. Mitchell then ran and caught up with Severus.

"I'm not sure if I told you, but the results will be up next week on the notice board in the Slytherin common room." Mitchell told him.

Severus nodded, but he was too shaken up to start a conversation. The try-outs had left him feeling a mixture of frightened and happy. Technically he _had_ caught the snitch, but he had only really touched it. Did that mean he had really won? He continued to walk to the changing rooms as fast as he could so that he would be able to leave before the seventh-year came in. Severus wanted to avoid an encounter with _him_ at all costs.

Once he had finished getting changed, Severus began to make his way to the Great Hall so that he would be able to have something warm to eat before afternoon lessons. On the way there he was joined by Sophie who had also gotten changed.

"There you are!" She exclaimed. "I've been looking for you. We finished try-outs ages ago."

"Well, the Keepers were the first ones to be assessed! I just finished mine." Severus replied.

"And how did it go? Amazing, I presume?" Sophie smiled.

They had reached the entrance to the Great Hall, and the mouth-watering aroma of spaghetti bolognaise hit them instantly.

"Alright," Severus replied, "but I'm not sure I've gotten through."

The pair sat down and began eating, and Sophie reassured him that she was sure he had done great. She asked who else had tried for the position of the Seeker, and had informed Severus that the name of the aggressive-looking boy in seventh-year was George Walters.

"Oh, he's horrible." Sophie shook her head. "Mitchell doesn't like him anyway, so don't worry about him."

Severus also told her about the arrogant second-year, which earned an eye-roll.

"Don't take any notice of people like that." She told him dismissively, and Severus forced himself to take her advice.

Severus then asked her how she thought she had done, and Sophie replied happily that all had gone well. Fifteen minutes later the bell rang that signalled the start of afternoon lessons, and they both had to run to class to make it in time.

* * *

When Severus woke up the following Monday morning, he wasted no time in throwing on his school robes to rush downstairs to the Slytherin common room. There was already a crowd of students surrounding Mitchell, who held a sheet of paper in his hands.

"Would you guys give me some space? I need to pin this up!" Mitchell complained.

The students moaned but still stepped back and a few seconds later the sheet was up on the board. Severus joined the group of students and scanned the sheet. He could feel his heart racing madly in his chest as he continued to reads off the list of names.

 _ **Slytherin Quidditch Team**_

 _Chasers: Mitchell Clearwater (7_ _th_ _year)_ _ **(Captain)**_ _, Molly Andrews (5_ _th_ _year), Jacob Harper (7_ _th_ _year)_

 _Beaters: Ella Bakersfield (6_ _th_ _year), Rohan Sandhu (7_ _th_ _year)_

 _Keeper: Sophie Evergreen (7_ _th_ _year)_

 _Seeker: Severus Snape (6_ _th_ _year)_

 _Substitutes: Priya Johar (7_ _th_ _year), Margaret Gates (5_ _th_ _year), Adrian Wood (4_ _th_ _year), George Walters (7_ _th_ _year)_

Severus could hardly believe it. His name was on the board! His own name, Severus Snape was actually on the board! He suddenly felt two hard thumps on his back and turned around to see Avery and Mulciber.

"Well done, mate!" They congratulated him.

"Thanks." Severus smiled back.

He then suddenly realised something- he needed to go and tell Lily! It felt like he hadn't spoke to her in forever as he hadn't seen her during the weekend. She probably had gone to Hogmeade with her friends, whereas Severus on the other hand had spent the entire weekend doing homework.

He once again thanked Avery and Mulciber and then dismissed himself before making his way out of the Slytherin common room. He couldn't wait to tell her the good news. She would change her mind about Quidditch now!


	6. Telling Lily

**Chapter Six: Telling Lily**

* * *

Lily Potter was already eating breakfast, and Severus soon located her in the Great Hall, sitting at the end of the extensive oblong table with a newspaper in her hand. She appeared to be attentively reading the newspapers contents whilst simultaneously eating spoonful's of cereal, and Severus was certain that any second now the milk would spill from the spoon all over her as she was being anything but careful with it.

He walked down the length of the table and greeted her with a small and shy, "Hello."

Lily jumped up, startled at having broken her concentration and the soggy contents of the spoon flew into the air and landed consequently on Severus' robes. The girl's cheeks turned pink once she realised that she had effectively flung her breakfast all over him.

"Oh Sev, I'm really sorry!" Lily exclaimed. "You scared me!"

"I'm sorry." Severus apologised. He then drew out his wand and pointed them at his damp robes, " _Tergeo_."

The milk and bits of cereal then slowly vanished from his robes, and the material turned black once again.

"What are you reading?" Severus asked her as he sat down in the opposite seat. "Anything interesting happen with the Ministry?"

"Not really." Lily replied, putting the newspaper down. "I was actually trying to do the crossword in the Puzzles section."

Severus laughed, "And are you having any luck?"

Lily shook her head and smiled back.

"Not one bit." She admitted. "I'm usually quite good at them, you know."

Severus raised his eyebrows, surprised at his best friend's boasting.

"Since when? I've never seen you actually do one!" He exclaimed.

"Before I came to Hogwarts, I loved doing crosswords with my dad. It's a Muggle thing, I suppose. I don't think anyone from the Wizarding World even looks at the Puzzle page. It's a wonder why they even include it in the newspaper."

"They include it for Muggles witches and wizards like you." Severus grinned. "Who want to keep in touch with their Muggle side."

"Well they're certainly not making it easy. The Magic version of crosswords is so much harder! The clues change every thirty seconds, although I suppose it is a bit easier since you get multiple clues for one word. But how am I supposed to remember them all?" She complained.

Severus shook his head; she truly was the _only_ witch who even bothered with the crosswords. Severus suspected the only reason the Puzzles page was included in _The Daily Prophet_ was so that there were enough pages. There didn't seem to be much interesting news nowadays.

"Hey, do you remember how I told you I was going to try-out for the Slytherin Quidditch team?" Severus reminded her.

"Yes, and I advised you against it, remember?" Lily sighed.

Severus could feel the tension rapidly rising between them and he could tell that she wasn't going to like what he had to say.

"Well I never got the chance to tell you how it went, since I haven't properly talked to you since Thursday."

Lily frowned for a moment. The expression of confusion on her face was not missed by Severus and he braced himself for what she was going to say.

"Wait…" Lily started. "you actually went? You never told me that you were actually going to try-out!"

"Yes, I did!" Severus protested. "I told you last week, and you basically ignored me!"

"I didn't think you were being serious!" Lily almost shouted. "You do realise that you trying-out to be on the Slytherin Quidditch team _isn't_ the most realistic thing ever?! You _hate_ sports, Sev! How could I take you seriously?!"

"Because you saw me in the match against Gryffindor! You even told me afterwards that even though Slytherin lost, I still played amazingly! And now it's ridiculous for me to even _attempt_ to make it on the team?!" Severus shot back.

His face had turned red with anger and he couldn't bear to speak to her any longer. Without looking back, Severus stormed out of the Great Hall and started walking towards the outside of the castle grounds to get some fresh air that would hopefully calm him down.

"Sev! Sev wait!" Lily cried as she began running after him.

Severus quickened his pace as he didn't want to continue arguing. It hurt him deeply that she thought that the mere idea of him trying-out to be on the Slytherin Quidditch team was a joke. Did she really regard him as someone who had absolutely no talent sports-wise? Alright, he hadn't even shown any signs of being good at sport until now, but did that mean that she had to look at him as though he was some sort of freak for trying? The way she looked at him reminded Severus of the way _Potter_ always looked at him. With disgust and contempt. He despised that look, and was therefore too angry with her to even continue the conversation.

But Lily had other ideas. She soon caught up with Severus, much to his annoyance, and after a few deeps breaths after having lost some air from running so fast, she began speaking.

"Sev, I promise you, you've got it all wrong!" She began. "This has _nothing_ to do with your Quidditch skills! You could be the world's best Quidditch champion and it still wouldn't change anything!"

"Then what is it?" Severus asked her coldly.

He desperately wanted to leave as arguing with Lily was the last thing he wanted to do. He needed to cool off, to breathe some fresh air.

"I'm frightened," Lily said quietly. "that you'll change."

She blushed at her own words and looked up to see Severus scowling. She felt his dark eyes look down on her with evident rage, and she wished more than anything that the floor would swallow her whole. She hated it when Severus wan annoyed with her; especially when she was trying to talk to him.

"What does that even mean?!" Severus protested. "Change how?!"

"James Potter used to be a really kind, sweet boy." Lily said. "That very first day I met him, he was so nice to me."

"What are you talking about? He started bullying me and calling me 'Snivellus' on the train, before we had even reached Hogwarts! He's always been vile, don't you remember?"

"That's because he was taught to hate Slytherin. I'm sure he would have overcome his stupid prejudice if it hadn't been for…"

"Been for what?" Severus asked.

"Quidditch."

Severus was speechless for a few seconds. Did Lily really think that Potter's disgusting behaviour was because of Quidditch? It had to be a joke.

"You're joking, aren't you?"

"No, I'm not." Lily replied stubbornly. "When he became part of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, that's when he started to become really vile."

"You mean that's when he started asking you out?" Severus corrected her.

"Stop it, Sev!" Lily said irritably. "As soon as he became this 'Quidditch Hero' everyone started treating him as if he were some sort of god! And all the attention got to his head; he started thinking he was better than everyone else."

"I'm pretty sure he thought that before he even touched a broom, but okay." Severus replied curtly.

"But Quidditch only made it worse! It's done nothing good for him, and I don't want Quidditch to ruin you too." Lily said.

Severus wanted to laugh. She was being utterly delusional; had she forgotten who she was talking to? He was _Severus Snape._ No one would be treating him like he was a hero, especially when Potter was around.

"Everyone who loves Potter hates me. To be honest, pretty much everyone hates me apart from Slytherin. You really think me being in the Quidditch team is going to change anything?" Severus asked sarcastically.

"I'm one hundred percent sure they will." Lily responded. "Didn't you hear the way they cheered for you in the match against Gryffindor? People don't hate _you,_ Sev. They hate you because James hates you, and he hates you because you're _'not on his level'_. But as soon as you start playing Quidditch, you _will_ be on the same level as him. Based on what I've seen, it looks like you've got a huge amount of skill and talent. And soon all of Slytherin are going to start worshipping you, mark my words. And then you won't be the same Severus Snape who's my best friend."

Severus was flabbergasted. How on earth had she reached that conclusion?

"Lily, you are absolutely mad." Severus informed her. "All of Gryffindor will still hate me, and all the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs will too since they're basically Gryffindor numbers 2 and 3!"

"That's not the point!" Lily shouted. "He won't have any advantage over you! And you're the Seeker- the most important position! Trust me, everything's going to change."

Severus began to get angry once again as he realised what she was saying.

"So you'd rather he keep on bullying me, huh? You'd rather I stay weak and pathetic, instead of actually having a chance to fight back?" He yelled.

"You won't like me anymore!" Lily yelled back. "You'll hate me, and we won't be best friends anymore!"

Silence ensued for the next few seconds as they both stared at each other.

"Why would you think that?" He asked softly.

"I just have a feeling, Sev." Lily said in a much calmer tone. "I know what it will be like. You'll start spending most of your time training, and we won't get to hang out as much. You'll become completely devoted to Slytherin, and you'll start hating Gryffindor even more than you do now. And when I'll complain that you spend too much time on Quidditch weeks down the line, you'll shout at me and say that I only care about myself, because why else would I stop you from doing what you love? I don't want that to happen, Sev."

Severus shook his head.

"You're being selfish and you know it." He told her abruptly. "That's not going to happen. You're just imagining the worst-case scenarios!"

"Well then, promise me it won't." Lily replied.

"What?"

"Promise me it won't happen." Lily repeated.

"…I promise." Severus responded.

Lily immediately smiled, and then said, "Well congratulations! I know you've already gotten in, so the suspense is over."

"I wouldn't have bothered arguing with you if I hadn't even gotten into the team." Severus remarked.

"I figured as much." Lily replied. "But I mean it, well done!"

Severus mumbled 'thanks' in response and the pair made their way upstairs to their first lesson. Although their argument seemed to have been resolved, Severus knew very well that their conversation about Quidditch had not ended.

* * *

Severus found his lessons much more engaging than those he had in fifth year. The NEWT syllabus was decidedly more challenging, but Severus was always up for it. He thoroughly enjoyed the _Potions_ and _History of Magic_ courses, but his _Defence Against The Dark Arts_ class was his favourite. There weren't many students in the NEWT class, which Severus was immensely grateful for. He had a desk to himself, and was able to spread out all of his textbooks in front of him. However, he wasn't so lucky in his _Arithmancy_ class, which he shared, much to his unhappiness, with the infamous James Potter. If Lily didn't sit next to him, he had absolutely no idea how he ever would've survived that class.

And of course, it so happened to occur that his first lesson that Monday morning happened to be _Arithmancy,_ and the news had gotten out that Severus was Slytherin's Seeker, which appeared to be unbelievable to some. James Potter made his thoughts known as soon as he stepped foot into the classroom, and Severus, knowing what was going to happen, braced himself for the moments to come.

"Hey, Snivellus!" James shouted across the room. "It's just a rumour, isn't it? You're not _really_ Slytherin's new Seeker, are you?"

"Shut up, James!" Lily said angrily.

"I'm being serious! Did no one show up for the try-outs or what?" James asked her.

"Do you _like_ being a prick?" Lily shot at him. " _I'm being serious. Do you get a kick out of it?_ "

James ignored her and then stated, "Well, at least there's going to be no competition for first place in the House Cup for Quidditch this year. Not that there ever was."

Lily rolled her eyes and informed him that he was an idiot, which he in turned ignored and instead asked her out for the hundredth time. Severus turned away from them both and instead clenched his fists together, wishing that James Potter had never been born. He was going to show him, show that _stupid, vile, imbecile_ that he was the best Seeker that Slytherin ever had. _Yes,_ Severus thought to himself. _I am going to be the best Seeker that Slytherin has ever had. And then I'll knock the stupid grin off Potter's face!_

As Severus was in such deep concentration, he hadn't realised that someone was trying to talk to him. Suddenly, a soft voice took Severus out of his thoughts and he found himself looking at a familiar face.

"Severus, the celebration party is this weekend in Professor Slughorn's office." The girl informed him.

Severus stared at her, wondering what on earth she was going on about. After a few seconds, he decided to ask her.

"Celebration party for what?"

The girl looked at Severus strangely, and then, when she realised that he did in fact have no idea what she was talking about, she rolled her eyes in disbelief.

"Professor Slughorn's holding a small party for everyone who got into the Slytherin Quidditch team, which includes _you._ "

Severus could sense that Lily had stiffened in reaction from what the girl had said, and he was reminded of this morning's events. Would Lily ever approve of him being part of the Slytherin Quidditch team? She had defended him in front of Potter, but he doubted she was fully convinced about the actual fact he was part of the team.

"Uh, I'll think about it." Severus told her.

The girl's eyes widened at what he had said.

"It isn't an option! You've been invited, Severus. You _have_ to go!"

Severus sighed and turned to face forwards as the lesson began. The last thing he wanted to do was have a party in Slughorn's office with the other team members, but he was most likely going to be forced to do it anyway.

"What is that girl's name, anyway?" He asked Lily who was hurriedly scribbling down notes.

"Ella Bakersfield." Lily responded, and Severus realised that she was one of the two Beaters on the Slytherin Quidditch team.

"Severus Snape!" The professor admonished him. "Don't speak in my lessons!"

Severus apologised and tried to shove thoughts about the celebration party at the back of his mind, although he knew he was going to fail. _I'd rather eat a frog than go to that party with Professor Slughorn,_ he thought miserably. _Anything but a party with him!_


	7. Slughorn's dinner

_**Author's note : Sorry for having not updated for so long, I had so many exams and other things going on but I hope you enjoy this chapter! x**_

* * *

 **Chapter Seven - Slughorn's dinner**

* * *

Professor Slughorn's office hadn't changed one bit since Severus had last been forced to enter it for his career interviews in fifth year. The room was fairly large, and occupied a large circular table that was positioned on the right-hand side, which had enough seats for at least a dozen or so students. This was the exact purpose of the grand oak table, as it was well-known that Professor Slughorn loved to choose certain students to be part of his 'Slug Club', and they would regularly dine on said table and consume extravagant amounts of food, in particular deserts with chocolate, of which Professor Slughorn was particularly fond of.

And this was the exact same table at which Severus now sat, awkwardly, as was his nature, next to Ella Bakersfield on his left, and (thankfully) Sophie Evergreen on his right. He desperately hadn't wanted to come, but he knew it would seem terribly rude if the Slytherin Seeker did not attend the Slytherin Quidditch trials celebration – and how offended Professor Slughorn would be! He wouldn't want to upset that strange man, as he knew he had a few more career interviews to get through before he would leave Hogwarts, and he had to remain on the Professor's good side until then.

So far, the evening hadn't gone too badly. Professor Slughorn had started a monologue on how much he loved holding these little gatherings, whilst everyone else waited, barely hiding their impatience as their deliciously steaming lasagne was growing colder by the minute. At last Professor Slughorn had ceased talking, and everyone began tucking into their meals. Severus couldn't deny how appetising the food was, but he still hated sitting there – being comfortable in social situations had never been his forte.

Professor Slughorn had gone around the table asking everyone how they felt about being picked for the Slytherin team, and eventually he came around to Severus.

'Ah, Severus Snape! The unexpected member of our dear little party! Ah yes, you did surprise me you know, when I read the list of names up on the Slytherin notice board! I never took you for one of the sporty ones, but now I see I've been wrong all along! Well congratulations, my dear boy! And tell me, how do you feel about all of this?' Professor Slughorn asked him in between huge mouthfuls of cheesy lasagne which threatened to jump off his fork any second as he twirled it around in the air.

'Um…well I didn't expect it!' Severus said nervously, for now all eyes has turned on him. 'I'm really grateful that Mitchel chose me as Slytherin's Seeker, and I hope I'll make our house proud!'

To this the Slytherins raised their glasses in the air and cheered, and for the first time Severus felt a swelling feeling of pride – they accepted him. It didn't matter that he was Severus Snape here, because they were Slytherins and he was a Slytherin, and that was enough for them to believe in him.

'You will make Slytherin proud,' Sophie smiled at him, 'and you'll make me proud.'

Severus grinned back at her, overjoyed that she believed in him. She seemed to be looking at him admirably, and it made Severus feel strange – no one had ever looked at him like that before.

'He's got amazing broom skills,' Mitchell nodded at Severus, 'so hopefully Gryffindor's Beaters' will have a harder time knocking our Seeker off his broom this year!'

'Cheers to that!' Professor Slughorn yelled, and everyone raised their glasses and clinked them together.

 _Yes,_ thought Severus, _cheers to that!_

* * *

Severus got back to his dorm so late after Professor Slughorn's dinner that he woke up at nine o'clock the following Saturday morning, which was the latest he had woken up in months. They had had profiteroles for dessert, and Professor Slughorn had even prepared a chocolate fountain to dip them in. The result was an almost uncomfortably full Severus staggering his way back to his dorm room, although the contentment he felt by far outweighed the mild discomfort at having eaten so much food. Nevertheless, Severus gathered up some scrolls of parchment, an ink pot and quill, and his textbook for _Defence Against the Dark Arts,_ and headed to the library to get started on some homework.

He found Lily already working at one of the long wooden desks, with multiple large textbooks sprawled out over the desk and several scrunched-up rolls of parchment.

'Good morning!' Severus greeted her pleasantly.

'What do you want?!' Lily replied back irritably, after tearing up yet another roll of parchment.

'Woah, I was just saying hi! Are you okay?' He asked, slightly concerned by the purple shadows beneath Lily's eyes and the wild look in her eyes. It didn't seem as though she had brushed her hair this morning either.

Lily sighed and pushed her chair slightly backwards. She rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand and tried to run her fingers in her hair, but failed as it was so knotty.

'I'm sorry,' she apologised, 'but I've spent all night trying to do this _Arithmancy_ homework but I keep getting everything wrong!'

'You could have asked me to help you?' Severus suggested as he pulled up a chair to sit next to her.

'You were at Slughorn's stupid dinner.' She muttered, annoyed. Suddenly, she seemed to realise that she was being rude when she asked with a significantly less angry tone, 'So how was it?'

'Oh, alright.' Severus said nonchalantly.

He didn't want to start talking about himself when Lily was in such a state. What was going on with her? Usually she put so much effort into her appearance – she would never leave her dorm without straightening her hair, applying a bit of blush and a few dabs of mascara. But today her hair was wild and unkept, and her cheeks were pale white, almost ghoulish.

As if hearing his thoughts, Lily caught sight of herself in the silver surface of the large mirror on the opposite side of the library, and she yelped with embarrassment.

'Merlin! I look terrible – I can't believe you've seen me like this – oh my' she cried, ashamed, before suddenly grabbing her belongings and running out of the library.

Severus watched, puzzled, as she ran away. Why did she care so much about what she looked like in front of him? She had seen him as a terribly-dressed eleven-year-old after all. And she always looked pretty, even when she was tired. What made her so self-conscious?

Unable to answer the question himself, Severus decided to start on his homework and he spent the next few hours laboriously completing it, before realising that he had Quidditch rehearsals starting at three o'clock. He had just enough time to get some lunch, get changed and head down to the pitch, and so he grabbed all of his work and made his way back to his dorm, with the question about Lily still floating in his mind.

* * *

'Our match against Hufflepuff is in ten days, so we've only got that long to make sure all of you are playing at your absolute best.' Mitchel Clearwater told the Quidditch team as soon as they reached the pitch. 'You guys need to be putting in your maximum effort today, okay? Losing to Hufflepuff would be an embarrassment.'

One of the boys in the group laughed loudly, and Severus realised that it was Rohan Sandhu, one of Slytherin's Beaters.

'As if we would lose to Hufflepuff! Have you seen their team this year?' Rohan guffawed.

'Yeah, I don't think it's going to be that hard to beat them this time!' Ella agreed.

'Which is exactly why we need to make sure we beat them!' Mitchel argued. 'Everyone knows Hufflepuff aren't hard to beat. So imagine how bad it'll be if we lose to them! Now come on, enough about _talking_ about beating them, let's make sure we _will_ beat them!'

Training was much more tiring than Severus had anticipated, and he soon grew tired of continually having to fetch the Snitch after Mitchell released it again, only seconds after Severus had handed it over to him.

'You need to build up stamina,' Mitchell informed him when he observed Severus panting and wiping the sweat off his forehead. 'That's one of the main problems this team has compared to Gryffindor-'

'But we're training for the match against Hufflepuff!' Severus reminded him, as he tried to shake off the weary feeling that had begun to permeate his entire body.

'Yes, but the match against Gryffindor isn't too far away. We have to make sure we can keep up this level of skill and speed throughout the entire match, or we might as well wave goodbye to the Quidditch trophy already.'

'Alright,' Severus sighed as he got up from kneeling on the ground, 'release the Snitch again.'


	8. Match Against Hufflepuff

**Chapter Eight - Match Against Hufflepuff**

* * *

This was it. The first Quidditch match of the year – Slytherin vs Hufflepuff. Severus felt sick. The training had been brutal, and although the Slytherin Quidditch team had been practising every single day for an entire week (including four-hour sessions on Saturday and Sunday), Severus still felt unprepared. After all, they had lost against Gryffindor in the final Quidditch match of last year. _But that was a different team,_ Severus thought. Ella, who he had realised to be an amazing Beater with an extraordinary ability to dodge Bludgers, hadn't been part of the team last year. And neither had Molly Andrews, one of the Chasers, who also had a knack for precision, particularly when aiming the Quaffle towards the hoops. _And I've gotten better too,_ Severus added, knowing very well that however badly he performed today, it couldn't go any worse than last time when he failed to obtain the Golden Snitch.

But that didn't stop his nerves from making him shake all over, and the adrenaline pumping around his body still couldn't distract him from the fact that he felt as if he would vomit any second. This time it mattered – this time he was _actually_ part of the team, not just standing in for Gabriella Stone. This time all the pressure was on him. This time, he had to get the Snitch.

* * *

The atmosphere was electric and wild. Despite being a match between Slytherin and Hufflepuff, which did not nearly induce as much excitement as the legendary match between Slytherin and Gryffindor, all the stadium's stands were quite full, as this was the first Quidditch match of the year. This was the first chance to see if either team were really that good, and show the other two houses – Gryffindor and Ravenclaw - what they needed to look out for when they would soon have their first match.

Unsurprisingly, both the Ravenclaw and Gryffindor stands were yelling their support for Hufflepuff. Only Slytherin would ever support Slytherin, and so once again the cheers from the Slytherin stand were drowned out by the continual screams of 'Go Hufflepuff!'

The knot in Severus' stomach tightened, and he focused on looking at his measly old broom, which he had been unable to replace. Normally, Hogwarts received a fresh supply of brooms every few years, however even so the number of said brooms that mysteriously went missing was unusually high, and so it was the case that most Quidditch members who were not rich enough to buy one for themselves (most were) relied on their Head of House to ask for some more brooms from the Headmaster, Professor Dumbledore. Despite Slughorn's extravagant little party, the professor had completely forgotten to raise the subject of the equipment for the Quidditch team, and thus the rubbish, battered broom remained the only one at Severus' disposal. However, he might have forgotten because most Slytherins did have the money to buy their own brooms, (many of which cost thousands of Galleons) and so the question of asking for brooms had never needed to be raised before.

And so, poor Severus had to once again cope with the wretched thing, which not only was too small in size for him, but the handle also curved away at an awkward angle which made the broom ever more difficult to ride. But there was no time to think about that now – Professor Dumbledore was about to make a speech.

'Students,' he began, waiting for the last few cheers and shouts of excitement to die down before he could continue. 'Welcome to Hogwart's very first Quidditch game of the year – Slytherin vs Hufflepuff.'

The crowed once again began to cheer, but this time Professor Dumbledore didn't seem to mind, and his slight smile could be seen in the flicker of his pale blue eyes, like the reflection of light in a lake. But eventually, the cheers subsided, and once again he raised his wand to his throat and his large voice boomed across the entire stadium.

'With new teams on both sides, I am sure this match which will prove to be a very exciting one, even unpredictable, I daresay. I wish both teams the best of luck, and let the game begin!'

The referee, Rolanda Hooch, whizzed up ten feet from the ground and tossed the Quaffle upwards, so that the three other balls comprising the two Blugders and Snitch also flew into the air in response. Thus, the match had officially begun.

Like a cork exploding from a bottle of champagne, the three Chasers on both teams whooshed upwards towards the Quaffle, which temporarily distracted Severus from his target – the Snitch. The abrupt and rapid movements of the other players always seemed to preoccupy him when he actually needed to have his eyes on a tiny golden ball that was whizzing its way around the stadium. Fortunately, it appeared that Hufflepuff's Seeker had also been distracted, as the fifth-year boy had a look of utter horror on his face when Molly Andrews almost knocked him off his broom when she flew past him, armed with the Quaffle in her palm.

 _Right, time to concentrate,_ Severus thought to himself as he squinted his eyes and tried to locate that damn golden ball. He had gathered from the training sessions that you might as well fly around the stadium rather than staying in one place when you were looking for the Snitch, as it was constantly moving anyway so you'd have more chance capturing it if you were on the move too. Plus, you were less likely to be hit by an oncoming Bludger. So, Severus began to make his way around the stadium, relatively slowly, whilst the packed stands of Hufflepuff, Gryffindor and Ravenclaw were roaring and shouting for Hufflepuff's Beaters to actually be _useful_ and stop Molly Andrews, who was getting dangerously close to the hoops, from scoring ten points.

The Slytherin stand too were yelling, but their shouts were of excitement and hope, as their Chaser was edging closer and closer to the hoops…

 _There!_ The Snitch, the stupid tiny bloody ball was _there!_ Severus felt half-relieved and half-annoyed when he finally found the small golden ball at the far-right of the stadium, after a long and barely tolerable forty-seven seconds. Normally it took him less than half a minute to locate the Snitch, but for some reason he felt exhausted today and found concentrating particularly difficult. Maybe he would need to cut down on all those study sessions. If it took him almost a full minute to find the tiny ball, how long would it take him to capture it? Hours?

Of course, Hufflepuff's Seeker had by then also seen the Snitch, so Severus had no advantage. He managed to curse himself before blasting across the pitch towards the Snitch, determined to have the ball in his palm soon.

'Severus, watch out!' Someone screamed.

Having now developed the reflexes necessary for survival in a game of Quidditch, Severus jerked his body and his vexatious broom to the left and felt the cold gush of air as the Bludger whizzed past his shoulder. Meanwhile Hufflepuff's Seeker lurched in front of Severus and gained a two-metre lead in the chase for the Snitch. However, Severus barely had the time to register this before a deafening roar filled the entire stadium, followed by the announcement,

' _Slytherin's Molly Andrews has just scored! Ten points to Slytherin!'_

Hufflepuff's Seeker loudly groaned in response, and Severus eagerly used this as an opportunity to blast in front of him, ignoring the surge of happiness he felt. Without turning around to see how close his opponent was, Severus shuffled further along his broom and began to stretch out his arm…

'Another Bludger!' Someone cried.

Severus instinctively dodged to the right, still focusing on the Snitch that was now less than a few feet away from him. It was still very early on in the game, and he had almost captured the Snitch already! Feeling optimistic, Severus stretched out his fingers past his broom, however all of a sudden, the high-pitched sound of a whistle filled the air, and all players came to a halt.

'Foul!' Rolanda Hooch cried, holding up a yellow card. 'Elizabeth Parkinson, Hufflepuff's Chaser has been issued with a _Cobbing Foul_ for continually elbowing her opponent in order to steal the Quaffle. The Quaffle must be handed to one of Slytherin's Chasers.'

The Slytherin stand cheered loudly, whilst many students from other stands grumbled about how the referee was being biased towards Slytherin, and that they were sure that it was the Chaser from Slytherin who was actually elbowing Elizabeth Parkison, not the other way around. Nevertheless, the whistle had caused Severus to lose sight of the Snitch, and now he had to start all over again. Thankfully, Hufflepuff's Seeker also seemed to have lost sight of the Snitch, although Severus was sure he would find it soon.

Over the next twenty minutes, Slytherin scored another one hundred and twenty points, earning many cheers from the crowd of Slytherin students. However, Hufflepuff had managed to score eighty points, and their Chasers seemed determined to score some more. Severus, meanwhile, was in the rather difficult position of having to dodge Bludgers and also keep his eye on the Snitch, which proved to be a tiring exercise, and he felt as though he could drop off his broom any minute. Twenty minutes had passed, and yet he still couldn't grab the Snitch. It seemed as though Hufflepuff's Beaters were only aiming their Bludgers at him, and not the rest of his teammates. And what on earth were Slytherin's Beaters doing? What had happened to Ella Bakersfield's amazing skills?! Hufflepuff's Seeker seemed to be doing just fine, barely having to dodge any Bludger whatsoever!

' _And another ten points to Hufflepuff!'_ A commentator yelled, when one of Hufflepuff's Chasers, Daniel McEwan, successfully bolted the Quaffle into the hoops, much to the frustration of Sophie Evergreen, who groaned in annoyance.

With what little energy Severus had left, he once again dodged another Bludger and bolted to the left where he once again caught sight of the Snitch. He was too tired to think of his opponent who was just a couple of feet behind him; he could only focus on stretching out his hand. _Come on, come on, come on._ He mentally urged the Snitch to come closer to his fingers, and he was so close he could see its small golden wings. _Come on, come on._ So close. A few inches away.

' _Hufflepuff have scored another ten points!'_

Undeterred, Severus edged closer. Three inches away. Two and a half. Two. One and a half.

'Severus! A Bludger!' Again someone screamed.

But Severus was too close. One inch. A half. A quarter…

And then Severus felt himself being thrown forwards, as the Bludger crashed into the back of his broom, causing half the broom to splinter into a thousand different pieces. Severus had to swerve downwards with the front of the broom that remained intact, and crashed into the ground. But Severus didn't care about the broom. He had caught the Snitch.


End file.
